Hand-painted ‘welcome home’ signs and tearful hugs: Emotional airport reunions for Brits as they tell of running for shelter as explosions rang out overhead and sleeping on towels underground in Dubai

‘Petrified’ Brits who found themselves in the middle of conflict while searching for sun in Dubai spoke of terrifying missile explosions, roaring warplanes and makeshift underground shelters.

Holidaymakers were greeted with ‘welcome home’ signs and tear-filled hugs as they returned to Blighty on Friday evening after fleeing a Middle East war zone.

Dubai, said to be the ‘safest city in the world’, has been shaken by unprecedented conflicts in recent days during the continuous attacks of Iran’s kamikaze drones.

Tehran began bombing American military bases in the Middle East on Saturday, February 28, in retaliation for a joint US-Israeli operation to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons.

Attacks on the Iranian capital on Saturday resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the same day.

Since then, the British government has been making plans to rescue more than 140,000 citizens who have registered their assets in the Middle East.

Some Britons stranded in Dubai returned home to Heathrow Airport on Thursday night, where they were greeted by family with an emotional reunion.

Sable Cooper, 31, and Brandon Cooper, 34, from Wickford, Essex, had been in Dubai for ten days with their three children, aged six, two and one.

Mrs Cooper hugs her family in Heathrow’s arrivals hall after flying into Heathrow with her husband and three children on Thursday evening

After the Virgin Atlantic flight landed at Heathrow, they were greeted with hugs by their relieved families holding banners.

The family were lucky to be able to board the flight they had originally purchased, as some friends who were holidaying in the Emirates had to rebook at the same time.

Ms Cooper told the Daily Mail: ‘It was stressful because we were traveling with three young children so on top of everything else it was extremely difficult.

‘The hotel was good, they were very helpful, very welcoming but obviously we just wanted to get home as quickly and safely as possible.’

The Coopers were staying at the iconic Atlantis The Palm hotel on the luxury Palm Jumeirah island resort.

It’s only about three miles from the Fairmont The Palm hotel, which is in the same archipelago complex and was hit by debris from an Iranian missile on Saturday.

Minutes before the first emergency alarm went off that day, they opened the balcony doors of their 14th-floor room and saw a rocket flying through the sky.

‘It looked like a giant firework,’ Mr Cooper said. ‘We were so scared.’

His wife added: ‘We are horrified. Absolutely petrified. ‘We already packed our emergency bags and took the kids and went down to the ground floor.’

Dramatic footage and footage of the moment the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel was hit by Iranian missile debris and set on fire

According to the Dubai media office, four people were reported injured in the attack.

An orange aura filled the air as debris crashed into the luxury hotel

A conference room beneath the hotel has been converted into a sort of bunker where vacationers staying at Atlantis sleep there at night to stay safe.

“The first night it happened, we were literally sleeping on the floor with just a few towels,” Mr Cooper said of the suddenness of the initial attack.

Hotel staff quickly installed appropriate beds as well as tea, coffee and 24-hour food facilities in the area; The family slept in these beds for the second of the two nights they spent in this shelter.

It is estimated that 200 more tourists staying at the hotel joined them.

The Coopers eventually moved into a regular room on the lower level of the building, on the fifth floor, where they spent the rest of their vacation safely.

‘They made us very comfortable… They really did what they had to do,’ Mr Cooper said.

Unprecedented images of exploding drones, burning hotels and missiles intercepted in the air have taken the outside world by storm on social media.

But missile sightings have become a commonplace occurrence for anyone stranded in Dubai, including influencers who have moved to the city in search of flashy, tax-free lifestyles when speaking of the UK.

A couple told the Daily Mail how they were ‘right in the middle’ of horrific scenes from Dubai.

Angela Clarke and her partner Brian Hill, from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, had returned to Heathrow from a nine-day holiday in Dubai on the same Virgin Atlantic flight as the Coopers.

The cleaning business owner and retiree were staying downtown by the water when they spotted their first missile three days into their trip.

Angela Clarke and Brian Hill at London Heathrow after holiday from hell

A cyclist watches in horror as a supersonic missile launched by Iran crashes into Dubai

‘It was quite scary. I saw one of the rockets pass over it. “We were so close to the marina, we were actually right in the middle of everything,” Ms. Clarke said.

‘It started on Saturday afternoon. We landed on the beach and were passing by the marina and bridge when the first drone exploded.

‘It looked like fireworks. It was pretty scary. We didn’t get much sleep.

‘At around 12.30 that evening, emergency alarms started ringing on our phones. Petrified.

‘We were on the 19th floor of the 22 floors of a hotel.

‘And the next day my partner saw the rocket explode outside our hotel and more drones were also captured. We were pretty central.

‘We had a very small swimming pool so we couldn’t really sit outside. ‘They were already advising people to stay at home.’

Luckily, the couple managed to return to England on the original flight they had booked.

The Iranian-made Shahed drone is said to be able to fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound (file image)

‘We were lucky. “I think they closed the airport again around 1.30pm,” Ms Clarke said.

‘Security was very tight, very very good. To be honest with you, we are really lucky that the UAE has neutralized these drones. The hotel also looked after us while we were there.’

Another family described how they had become ‘used’ to missiles flying overhead as sun seekers continued to party on the ground as warplanes struggled to shoot them down.

Carolina Buhtina and Dominic Adair also went to Dubai for a nine-day holiday with their three children and returned to Heathrow on the same Virgin Atlantic flight.

They were lucky not to experience too many difficulties in their travels and holidays; They were staying on Al Marjan Island in the north, just outside the center of Dubai.

“Some of my friends who live in Dubai were traveling north because it was pretty quiet where we were the first day,” Mr. Adair said.

‘To be honest, we haven’t experienced any disruption. ‘There was some confusion between the airline and the travel agent about whether we should get on the plane or not, but other than that everything went as planned.’

Ms Buhtina added: ‘Luckily we did it!’

Carolina and Dominic Adair with their two children after landing at Heathrow on Friday

He said the family saw many attacks while there: ‘It was very strange because everyone was used to it.

‘You would hear them, you would hear the explosions in the sky. It’s crazy to explain this to anyone.

‘You hear the explosions in the sky and when you look up you see the trails and then the jets flying away.

‘But to be honest we still went ahead. In our hotel, everyone was always outside. However, we avoided this in the evenings. I was worried, I thought, ‘I don’t want to stay out at night’, so after dinner we went straight to bed but everyone was out partying.’

Mr Adair added: ‘Some people panicked, especially when it first started. As the days go by, I think everyone is gaining some immunity, as crazy as it sounds.

‘When the jets first started going off, you could actually hear them roaring through the air.’

Ms Buhtina said: ‘When I first heard it, we were on the beach with the kids and I heard the explosion. I grabbed the kids, grabbed the stuff, and started running.

‘Everyone was just looking at the sky and no one was leaving me! “Guys!” I said, I dropped him off, I left his sand toys and everything to him and ran inside.’